The Mail-Journal, Volume 6, Number 43, Milford, Kosciusko County, 26 November 1969 — Page 9

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PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY The Milford Mail (Est 1888) Syracuse-Wawaeee Journal (Eet 1907) Consolidated Into The Mail-Journal Feb. 15, 1962 DEMOCRATIC ARCHIBALD E. BAUMGARTNER, Editor and Publisher DELLA BAUMGARTNER, Business Manager Box 8 Syracuse, Ind., — 46567

Santa's Plea

Santa has arrived in Kosciusko county and is issuing a plea to one and all.. .shopearly! He’s reportedly ready to help with your Christmas gift ideas since he slipped into town sometime during the night with a smile on his lips and a bright twinkle in his eye. Win early arrival is to remind you that the Christmas season is upon us and this copy of the paper offers. many advertising suggestions for Christmas giving. Santa is issuing an invitation to all to scan the pages of this issue for gift giving ideas. He urges everyone to shop early to avoid the last minute rush. Christmas is a fun time, it’s time for the family and friends. It’s a time for entertaining, for visiting, for gift giving, mailing cards and enjoying the holidays. But, most of all Christmas is for honoring the birth of the Christ Child Who came to earth so many years ago to be Savior of the world. Santa even agrees with this! He doesn’t try to take away the true meaning of Christmas. He only tries to add to the happiness of the season. So, why not heed his plea and shop early so you won’t have to be worrying about the gift you’re going to buy Aunt Jane or Uncle Sam when you should be attending a church service in honor of the Christ Child.

The American Way

“I will never forget to be an American citizen, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles

Thanksgiving ■ Then And Now

Thanksgiving Day is here again. General observance will take place tomorrow. As we sit down to our turkey or goose on this day of thanks, we should pause for a moment to visualize the first Thanksgiving of that small band of Pilgrims huddled in the forests of a bleak American wilderness on the threshold of winter. Measured by today’s affluence, comfort and expectancies, their prospects were something less than hopeless. If they became ill, they died or got well. There were no health services and no medicare or medicaid. There was no transportation. There was no handy source of supplies such as the

Serious Challenge Os Crime: Senator Vance Hartke

Crime constitutes one of the most serious challenges to our free society. Certainly our heritage of personal freedom means little to a citizen if he fears to walk on the street at night or answer his door, if his property is subject to theft or vandalism, or if the safety of his family is constantly in jeopardy. Nor do the latest crime statistics issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation give any reason to hope that the situation is improving. These figures for

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EDITORIALS

the first six months of this year carry the same frightening message carried by all other FBI reports in recent years. It is that violent crime and offenses against property continue to increase at an unprecedented rate in the cities, in the suburbs and in the rural areas of our country. As a group, violent crimes increased by a staggering 13 per cent from January to June when compared to the same period in 1968. Robbery was up 17 per cent, forcible rape 15 per

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This newspaper is responding to Santa’s plea. Are you? The editors have prepared this special gift edition full of suggestions about what to buy and where to buy. It also gives ideas for the coining holidays. A traditional way to shop is for mom and dad to take the youngsters to toyland. Such a trip always puts the entire family in the mood for Christmas and also gives “Santa” an idea of what the youngsters would like to find under the tree on Christmas morning. A great idea for Christmas buying is the selection of a major item for the home — furniture, furnishings, electronic entertainment equipment, major kitchen and laundry appliances, etc., are fun to choose and can be enjoyed by the entire family for years to come. Individual gifts too are nice to receive. Apparel is a natural here and the givers have a wide variety to choose from. Or, how about jewelry, toiletries or grooming aids. Maybe sports equipment, hobby equipment or a good book for the avid reader. Personalized gifts too add an extra touch of thoughtfulness. « With so much to see and so many gifts to choose from we suggest you heed Santa’s plea.. .read the ads in this paper then make your purchases early so you too can enjoy this Christmas. And remember, “Shop at Home!”

that made my country free. I will trust in God and in the United States of America.” Stuben Republican

corner supermarket. There was no benevolent board, bureau or government agency to fall back on. There was no consumer protectors. In short, there was no succor from any direction. There was only the wilderness, the Indians and a continent full of opportunities awaiting those with enough courage and initiative to face the unknown. Upon second thought, the Pilgrims did indeed have much for which to be thankfid. As we sit down to our Thanksgiving repast, we should not only give thanks, we should ask ourselves if we are worthy of the heritage that began with the Pilgrims.

cent, aggrivated assault 10 per cent and murder 8 per cent. At the same time crimes against property rose a disturbing 8 per cent. These statistics reinforce the view that this country is fighting two wars today, the one in Southeast Asia and the other right here at home. This latter conflict is the much talked about but little implemented war against crime. Last year more than twelve thousand persons lost their lives as a result of this domestic conflict; victims of a struggle which is in many ways more brutal and more bloody than the one in Viet Nam. In 1968 this war, which increases in its intensity day-by-day, resulted in the hospitalization of two hundred thousand and property losses which have been conservatively estimated at more than one billion dollars. Unlike Viet Nam where there is some hope that an honorable peace may be forthcoming, the situation here at home appears increasingly desperate. In our cities especially, the forces of crime appear to be alarmingly close to a victory over the forces of justice. It is my firm belief that if positive action is not taken—and taken soon—a crime crisis of unprecedented proportions will soon envelop this nation.

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Know Your *" l WkjE Indiana Law .JE By JOHN J. DILLON Jjrflk Attorney at Law This is a public service article explaining provisions of Indiana law in general terms.

Product Liability

One of the most interesting and vital fields in litigation today is the expanding area of products liability. In our booming economy more people have the purchasing power to buy products of widely different descriptions that come from markets, not only domestic but from all over the world. Parallel to this purchasing ability, is the demand for higher quality in the products thatj>eople buy. We no longer deal with the neighborhood grocer who has received meat butchered in the community nearby and brought to him by a small packer of meat products for sale by this retailer.

Special Report from Washington

WASHINGTON - The Joint Chiefs of Staff have received ominous warnings that the North Koreans are building new dugouts and bunkers along the demilitarized line. They also have been spotted engaged in mysterious activity inside the demilitarized zone. It is possible that they are building up for a large-scale attack upon the American sector. After my trip to the Far East two months ago, I warned that the North Koreans might stage an assault upon one of our camps as their next move to humiliate the United States and to call President Nixon’s bluff. During the presidential campaign, Nixon .said he would never permit an Incident like the seizure of the Pueblo spy ship. Not long after his election, the North Koreans shot down a spy plane. They are also holding a helicopter crew that strayed across the 38th parallel; they ambushed four American Gl’s driving along the peace road leading to Panmunjom; and they stage periodic provocative raids across the DMZ. They have been able to get away with these small outrages in spite of Nixon’s promise. Now there is a definite danger that they may test his reaction with a major incident. Intelligence reports from Panmunjom claim that the Chinese, who send only lowranking deputies to watch the Korean truce sessions from the background, carefully taperecord the proceedings and send the tapes to Peking. The Chinese deputies may stay in the background during the meetings, but they put on the biggest show upon arrival. In-

More probably we buy products that have been shipped and packaged from some distant processor or manufacturer. For this reason we are entering a period of more talk of consumer ’protection and consumer representatives because of the very difficult problem the average consumer has in reaching a person who has sold him a defective product. —, Since the law is always mobile in meeting problems, this has greatly enlarged the field of suits for damages due to defective products. It is more and more the general rule that a seller of a product which is defective in

variably, they drive up in the biggest, sleekest, fanciest cars with a photo of Mao Tse-tung on the dashboard over an inscription proclaiming that he is “always thinking of the people.” In China, however, the people walk; they don’t drive around in fancy cars. SILENT MAJORITY Republican leaders are privately skeptical over President Nixon’s ability to tune in on the great “silent majority” he claims to represent. He relies almost entirely upon the Gallup poll to tell him what the majority is thinking. He has rejected the Harris, Quayle and other polls because of what he considers to be their Democratic bias. He has also shut off the grassroots GOP leaders who keep their fingers on the political pulse, but have been unable, however, to get past White House aides. Some party leaders are seriously concerned that the President may be losing touch with the people. FINANCIAL ' IRRESPONSIBILITY The congressional machinery is so cumbersome that Congress has passed only two of the appropriation bills needed to finance the government. All appropriations were supposed to be ready at the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1. It now looks as if Congress will be half a year late with the money for the government to operate. Meanwhile, government agencies have been granted special legislation to operate from month to month. This is not only inefficient, but President Nixon can’t prepare his next budget until he finds out how much money Congress is going to allow him for this year.

.condition and, therefore, unreasonably dangerous to the consumer, must respond to that consumer in damages for the sale of the defective product. The classic case we always think of is the broken piece of glass in the soft drink bottle which we purchased and consume, or the automobile which we buy which has a defective wheel which collapses, or the tainted food which we eat which has an adverse effect on our physical condition. In all of these cases, not only is the retailer who handled the product responsible, but the law also now makes accountable the wholesaler or middleman and the manufacturer or processor of the product. This is based upon the general principal that all products are warranted for the fitness of use to which the purchaser would normally be expected to put them. Since products pass through so many hands before they reach the consumer, therefore, making it practically impossible for the consumer to determine who in fact was actually responsible for a defect in a product, the courts are more and more making all the people in the chain of marketing

OVERSEAS BASES There’s more than economy behind President Nixon’s move to close down many military bases overseas. The President is determined to reduce our overseas commitments, particularly in Asia, to avoid any more Viet Nams. Since the end of World War 11, the State and Defense departments have worked steadily and purposefully to build a network of alliances until America’s octopus fingers today reach into just about every trouble spot in the world. The U. S. maintains 429 major and 2,972 minor military installations abroad. From the balmy beaches of Trinidad to the desolate glaciers of Iceland, from the cork forests of Portugal to the ornate temples of Thailand, the U. S. is bound by treaty to throw its might behind democracies and dictatorships alike. All told, the American people are committed by eight security treaties to defend 41 nations with its armed forces. Where no treaties exist — or where existing pacts are loosely defined — the powers in the Pentagon have produced secret “contingency plans” which call for American boys to rush to the rescue of friendly foreign potentates. For that matter, the mere presence of our Gl’s in foreign lands commits us to defend them. For any attack upon those countries would almost surely involve our military personnel. This is how we blundered into the Viet Nam war. We became involved simply because we were there. The American compound at Pleiku was hit. We retaliated. The Viet Cong struck again. We escalated.

Congressional Comer: John Brademas Reports From Washington

Two Important Issues Before House; SST And Farm Subsidies

By a two-to-one majority, the House voted to appropriate $96 million in additional funds for the development of a supersonic air transport (SST) in the current fiscal year. The SST program has been a matter of controversy ever since its inception in 1963. Under a plan initiated then, the Federal government agreed to assume most of the cost of developing a commercial air transport which would have the capacity to carry 250 to 300 passengers 4000 miles at a speed of 1800 miles an hour. President Kennedy initially said that the Federal contribution to the program should not exceed $750 million. However, due to increasing costs and early problems with the sign of the aircraft, it is now expected that the SST will cost the Federal government $1.29 billion dollars. The aircraft industry is contributing $229 million. Recently considerable doubt has been expressed about the commercial viability of the SST program. Many experts believe that the superplane will lose hundreds of millions of dollars. The problems of sonic boom, increased airport noise and safety hazards have led many to question the utility of going ahead with the SST. Earlier this year a special review committee appointed by President Nixon to study the SST program concluded that the program should be discontinued. 4 Here are some of the things the members of the President’s blueribbon committee said:

responsible for the products they handle. What many people fail to understand, however, is the mere fact that there is a broken piece of glass in a soft drink bottle does not mean that somebody must respond in damages. If a person drinks the soft drink and the glass cuts or injures the mouth, then of course, the damage question arises and the responsible parties must reply in damages. The mere defect in and of itself only goes to the question of whether the product should be replaced or repaired or made as good as represented. The field of warranty has become very well known to the consumer because of the activity of the automobile manufacturers in issuing such broad warranties. This is another subject which I will treat at another time.

By JACK ANDERSON

At least half of America’s overseas installations could be junked without harming anyone except the generals, contractors and bureaucrats who profit from their existence. They will swarm over Capitol Hill like ants, testifying here, displaying their mystifying charts and graphs there, attempting to justify the continued operation of their bases. As a result, only a couple dozen overseas installations, in the end, will be closed. CONFLICT OF CONSCIENCE One of President Nixon’s most controversial appointments was that of Roger Robb to the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, sometimes called the little Supreme Court because it handles so many important cases. Robb is the man who defended rightwing State Department official Otto Otepka and helped blow up the career of atomic scientist Robert Oppenheimer. Robb didn’t ask the political affiliation of Dan Hurley, a brilliant young law clerk he hired in August. It was a strange working relationship between the conservative jurist and the liberal law clerk. However, Hurley admired Robb and worked hard for him. But he was determined to march in the October Viet Nam Moratorium. Robb thought it was a case of conflict, or not being impartial. Yet he didn’t want to fire the young lawyer and discussed the matter with other judges. He received various opinions, but had to make the final decision himself: Hurley could work or march. The law clerk stood firm and is now at Moratorium headquarters defending fellow peace demonstrators and looking for a job that doesn’t conflict with his conscience.

—U. Alexis Johnson, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs—There are no overriding foreign policy grounds either for pushing ahead the SST project now, or for delaying it, or for dropping it altogether." —The Council of Economic Advisors-"... we do not believe that our prestige abroad will be enhanced by a concentration on white elephants.” —Lee A. Duß ridge, President Nixon’s Science Advisor-" ... the Government should not be subsidizing a device which has neither commercial attractiveness nor public acceptance." In spite of these negative recommendations, President Nixon requested another $96 million—in addition to the $99 million already appropriated—to go ahead with the SST. The House vote last week confirmed the President’s decision. I feel that the President’s decision and the House’s action constitute yet another example of how we have failed to develop a proper sense of our national priorities. Earlier this year President Nixon threatened not to spend sl.l billion in education funds voted by the House of Representatives. How, then, can he justify spending $96 million on a project as questionable as the SST? It is time that we stopped putting hardware ahead of people in our national scale of values. FARM SUBSIDIES Earlier in the current session, the House of Representatives by a vote of 224-142 approved a ceiling of $20,000 on the amount of farm subsidies which could be paid to any individual farmer. The House action was an attempt to remedy the present unfair policy of paying wealthy fanners hundreds of thousands of dollars not to produce. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to include the $20,000 ceiling in its version of the bill. The Conference Committee appointed to adjust differences between the House and Senate bills also eliminated the payments ceiling. The vote on the Conference Committee’s report last week was therefore a vote on the farm subsidy ceiling. The ceiling was defeated by a vote of 214 to 172. And so the Federal policy of subsidizing the wealthy continues.